Academy Archives

William Watkins, circa 1950

Flawless Performance Given By Organist

Approximately 400 people came from cities and towns all over East Texas and North Louisiana Tuesday night to hear William Watkins play the organ at First Presbyterian Church. What they heard was organ playing of a class they never heard before, and are not likely to hear again until Mr. Watkins returns to Kilgore, for he is a young man of extraordinary gifts.

Mr. Watkins bypassed the customary "opener" which is calculated to give the player time to get his bearings and quiet the audience. He pitched right in with the G Minor Fantasy and Fugue of Bach, and played it flawlessly and with a clear delineation of style. These qualities are to be expected of a concert performer. The unexpected was that he invested this rather overworked music with a freshness and vitality that won his audience to him at the start.

Having established himself as a Bach player of the highest rank, Mr. Watkins continued with two modern works, the Fantasy for Flute Stops by Leo Sowerby, and a brand new "Fete" by Jean Langlais. The Sowerby was played as the fanciful music it is, without any apparent temptation to be cute about it. Langlais demonstrated the player’s virtuosity, which is certainly electrifying; but one got the impression that this was a virtuosity under the control of a profound musical intellect, so there was no suggestion of showing off, but an apparent wish to serve the music with the finest technical equipment possible. Cesar Franck’s B Minor Choral was chosen to close the first half, and in Mr. Watkins’ hands it was Franck at his best – lofty, mystical and truly organistic.

The principal work of the evening, if one can select a pinnacle among so many peaks, was the Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue by the Canadian composer, Healey Willan. This is great music by any standards, great enough to tax the powers of any musician alive. Not only did young Mr. Watkins not get in the way of the music, he made himself completely its servant – a wholly understanding and loving servant – so that it spoke with a complete realization of all its possibilities; and the audience was brought figuratively to its knees. Throughout the church there was an emotional charge almost as tangible as the walls themselves. We were present at the creation of great art, and we all knew it.

As a contrast to Willan, Mr. Watkins offered two pieces by Marcel Dupre – "The spinner" and a set of variations on a Noel – and he wound up the evening with the Liszt Prelude and Fugue on B.A.C.H. The complete list of pieces is formidable indeed, considering the level of difficulty. But never was there a demand that was not more than met.

As an interpreter of music Mr. Watkins does not allow himself the mannerisms frequently indulged in by organists. There is none of that precious asceticism which consists in eschewing all but a handful of stops in a misguided attempt to convert an essentially heroic instrument into a vehicle for chamber music. On the other hand, there is never bombast just for the sake of effect. Nothing is overdone, and nothing understated. He does not affect an individual "style" of playing. The style is in the music, according to its historical perspective and the genius of its composer. Mr. Watkins knows this to be true, and so he simply brings to all the music he plays a superb musicianship, a limitless technique, and a deep humility, without any attempt to sell himself. The result is Art, with capital A.

It is doubtless clear by now that this reviewer finds it impossible to discuss the art of William Watkins without throwing superlatives around like confetti. Well, fellow students, this youngster deserves all the superlatives in the book. I didn’t even feel the urge to compare his playing with that of the many other recitalists who have played the organ here during the past 15 years, for the simple reason that William Watkins, the organist, is in a class by himself. He transcends the natural limitations of the organ. You have to round up a roster of names like Koussevitzky, Rubenstein and Monteux to find a basis for comparison. This boy is one of the great interpretive artists of the century.  Roy Perry, for The Kilgore Herald, Kilgore, Texas, February 17, 1950.

Be sure to visit the East Texas Oil Museum Online at www.EastTexasOilMuseum.com to read the fascinating story of Kilgore's oil boom of the 1930's.  And, if you happen to pass through Kilgore, Texas, pay the museum a visit in person to experience a dramatic exhibit and a great gift shop!